Wednesday, February 25, 2015
Fruit Everywhere
I just wanted to speak a little on the abundance of fruit references in the past stories we've read. Of course, we have had our run ins with cherry trees, connecting them to sexual references, making them more figurative. I thought it was intersting, though, that in "Two Friends," we as readers are told right away that the "cherry-trees in the front yard had been called Abby and Sarah" (413). We know that the trees, in a way, symbolize the relationship of the women. In contrast, "Martha's Lady" does not intertwine Martha and Helena right away. Helena actually says "I wish I had asked him if he would be so kind as to climb the cherry tree" (874). The first reference to the cherry tree in this story is pertaining to the minister, a man. So, I just found it interesting that both stories include these trees and close woman relationships, yet, the approaches are totally different.
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ReplyDeletePaige, Strawberries are also mentioned in the text. What, if anything, should we make of that?
ReplyDeleteI think what's interesting about cherries is that even though they come in pairs and grow on the same tree they can be pulled apart and eaten seperately and I think that is symbolic of the relationship between Martha and Helena. They have been together all their lives with a similar foundation but yet in the end they grow apart and become two seperate entities. Maybe all the fruit is symbolic for that.
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